Defence School of Languages

Lord Astor of Hever: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Which languages other than English were taught at the Defence School of Languages in each of the past three years.

Lord Bach: The following languages were taught at the Defence School of Languages over the past three years.
	Arabic, Italian, Farsi, Dutch, Pashtu, Russian, Urdu, Serbian, Greek, Bosnian, Turkish, Albanian, Hindi, Serbo-Croat, French, Norwegian, Spanish, Ukrainian.

Defence School of Languages

Lord Astor of Hever: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	How many British military personnel were trained in Arabic to (a) colloquial level, (b) linquist level and (c) interpreter level in each of the past three years.

Lord Bach: The levels requested are no longer extant. There are now four possible levels of training that currently reflect military foreign language requirements:
	(a) Survival.
	(b) Operational.
	(c) Advanced Certificate.
	(d) Diploma.
	The numbers trained at the Defence School of Languages are as follows:
	
		
			 Level Training Year 2001–02 Training Year 2002–03 Training Year 2003–04 
			 Survival (10 weeks) 30 50 72 
			 Operational (6 months) 0 0 12 
			 Advanced Certificate (12 months) 1 0 0 
			 Diploma (18 months) 26 30 32 
		
	
	In addition, military students were also trained for specific purposes but not to established standards as follows:
	
		
			 Level Training Year 2001–02 Training Year 2002–03 Training Year 2003–04 
			 Basic (1-2 weeks) 66 14 23 
			 Diploma Refresh (3 weeks) 5 12 45 
			 Basic Patrol Iraqi (1 week) 0 0 130

Defence School of Languages

Lord Astor of Hever: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	How many British military personnel received foreign language training at the Defence School of Languages in each of the past three years; and how many are forecast to receive foreign language training this year.

Lord Bach: The number of British military personnel trained at the Defence School of Languages (DSL) is as follows:
	
		
			 Training Year  
			 2001–02 363 
			 2002–03 271 
			 2003–04 380 
		
	
	These figures exclude all training that is contracted out and delivered for DSL, which currently runs at around 100-120 per annum.
	The current forecast for the training year 2004–05 is that 220 British military personnel will be trained at DSL.

Defence School of Languages

Lord Astor of Hever: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What was the total net operating cost of the Defence School of Languages in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Lord Bach: The net operating costs of the Defence School of Languages for Financial Year 2002–03 was £6,007,770.

Defence School of Languages

Lord Astor of Hever: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they will provide a breakdown of revenue generated by the Defence School of Languages in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Lord Bach: The revenue generated by the Defence School of Languages for financial year 2002–03 is £1,363,045. The breakdown is:
	(a) Receipts for overseas students—£1,270,426
	(b) Local income generation—£92,619

Bowman Tactical Communication System

Lord Astor of Hever: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What steps are being taken to rectify failings during trialling of the Bowman radio system.

Lord Bach: The Bowman tactical communication system is being delivered incrementally and is subject to a comprehensive test and trials programme, ranging from laboratory integration and analysis to operational field trials by the eventual users. Issues that arise are captured, categorised and then prioritised to determine the most appropriate action to deliver the capability within the approved performance, time and cost envelope.

Bowman Tactical Communication System

Lord Astor of Hever: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	When there will be complete compatibility between Bowman and other relevant systems in the Challenger 2 tank.

Lord Bach: Integration of Bowman with relevant systems in the Challenger 2 main battle tank has progressed to the point where the first conversions have begun. Installation and integration will, as planned, continue to be subjected to a comprehensive test and trials programme with the aim of fielding compatible Bowman/Challenger 2 capability in 2004–05.

Bowman Tactical Communication System

Lord Astor of Hever: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What is the current financial status of the testing and deployment of the Bowman platform battlefield system application.

Lord Bach: The financial status of the platform battlefield information system application (PBISA) has not changed since it was added to the Bowman contract in December 2002. There are no plans to seek additional funding.

Armed Forces: Married Quarters

Lord Astor of Hever: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What rules govern the allocation of surplus married quarters to serving personnel in a long-term relationship.

Lord Bach: The tri-service accommodation regulations govern the allocation of married quarters to serving personnel. They do not allow cohabitation with a partner who is not a legal spouse.
	However, this policy is currently under review and when a conclusion is reached the House will be advised.

Territorial Army: Pay

Lord Jopling: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they will set out rates of pay for members of the Territorial Army posted for active service overseas over each of the past 10 years for the rank of private, sergeant and captain.

Lord Bach: Members of the Territorial Army who are mobilised and posted for overseas duty receive the same rates of pay as their counterparts in the regular Army. In addition, they are eligible for specialist pay and allowances provided they meet the appropriate criteria.
	Maximum and minimum annual rates of basic pay for each rank for the years 1995–2004 are shown below.
	
		
			  Private Sergeant  Captain 
			  Minimum Maximum Minimum Maximum Minimum Maximum 
			 1995 9,365.94 14,852.28 16,656.66 20,397.18 22,571.22 26,238.54 
			 1996 9,869.60 15,632.95 17,447.00 21,352.50 23,688.50 27,521.00 
			 1997 10,282.05 16,271.70 18,155.10 22,206.60 24,659.40 28,667.10 
			 1998 10,720.05 16,946.95 18,841.30 23,031.50 25,582.85 29,743.85 
			 1999 11,141.04 17,600.94 19,559.04 23,896.14 26,611.86 30,916.02 
			 2000 11,639.85 18,374.10 20,334.15 24,830.95 27,783.80 32,295.20 
			 2001 12,070.55 20,166.25 22,925.65 28,199.90 28,813.10 34,269.85 
			 2002 12,577.90 20,910.85 23,772.45 29,243.80 30,024.90 35,707.95 
			 2003 13,080.84 21,637.92 24,598.86 30,260.88 31,069.74 36,951.36 
			 2004 13,461.20 22,184.70 25,217.85 31,025.00 31,853.55 37,883.35

Watchkeeper Project

Lord Astor of Hever: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they have received compliant proposals for the Watchkeeper project; and on what timetable they propose to carry that project forward.

Lord Bach: Two proposals for the demonstration and manufacture phase of the Watchkeeper project were received on 18 March 2004 and are currently being assessed. The main investment decision is due later this year and it is intended that capability will be delivered from 2006.

Sea King

Lord Astor of Hever: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What percentage of the Sea King HC MK 4 fleet are to have their Gnome engines upgraded to H-1400T specification.

Lord Bach: Eight per cent of the Sea King Mk4 aircraft fleet are currently fitted with Gnome H1400-1T engines and these are scheduled to be removed. A pool of H1400-1T engines will be retained to support any future operations in hot climates.
	There are currently no plans to introduce the H1400-1T engine as a standard fit to the Sea King Mk4 fleet.

Sea King

Lord Astor of Hever: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	When they will meet their target of having 13 Sea Kings at ASaC MK 7 configuration; and what is the predicted service life of these helicopters.

Lord Bach: The replacement programme for the two Sea King aircraft lost during Operation TELIC is planned to be completed by January 2007. At this point the fleet size will be restored to 13 Sea King aircraft in the ASaC Mk7 configuration.
	Based on current predictions it is expected that the Sea King ASaC fleet will remain in service with the Royal Navy until well into the next decade.

Free-fall Bombs

Lord Astor of Hever: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they consider the use of free-fall bombs legally justifiable, given the widespread availability of precision guided air-launched weapons.

Lord Bach: Responsibility is placed on users of all weapons to ensure that their use complies with legal principles, including the requirement to focus attacks on military objectives and to seek to ensure that attacks are proportionate to the direct military advantage anticipated. The United Kingdom takes extensive steps to ensure that all weapons in our inventory can be used in this way and that attacks comply with the law affecting the UK. We choose weapons that are appropriate to the task and, depending on the operational and tactical circumstances, such munitions may include free-fall bombs. While our Armed Forces have made increasing use of precision guided weapons, unguided munitions provide a military capability that cannot be immediately replaced.

Nuclear Submarine Personnel:Health Monitoring

Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Bach on 4 March (WA 114) on nuclear submarines, if monitoring of retired personnel is not undertaken, how the Ministry of Defence can assess long-term effects on the health of personnel from work with radioactive substances.

Lord Bach: The Ministry of Defence contributes to the national registry of radiation workers database managed by the National Radiological Protection Board. The last study contained 124,743 workers of whom about one-third were MoD radiation workers or former radiation workers. The data are used to undertake epidemiological studies. In its second analysis of the data, published in July 1999, the National Radiological Protection Board concluded that overall death rates among radiation workers are below those in the general population. This is known as the healthy worker effect. The National Radiological Protection Board is intending to undertake the next analysis in 2005–06.

Habitual Residence Test

Earl Russell: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the Written Answer by the Baroness Hollis of Heigham on 9 March (WA 165), what sum they have budgeted for litigation arising from the decision to restrict access to benefits for nationals of accession states.

Baroness Hollis of Heigham: The department does not budget for litigation in any specific areas.

Drug Free Sport Directorate

Lord Moynihan: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether the negotiations with the head of the Drug Free Sport Directorate at UK Sport, who is currently on leave, have concluded; and when it is anticipated she will return to work at UK Sport.

Lord McIntosh of Haringey: Negotiations between Michelle Verroken and UK Sport have yet to be concluded and it would be inappropriate for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport to make any further comment at present.

West Coast Main Line

Lord Bradshaw: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Davies of Oldham on 18 March (HL 1894), whether the renegotiation of the long-term franchise for operating train services on the West Coast Main Line is taking place only with the incumbent; and, if so, how the interests of the taxpayer are being safeguarded.

Lord Davies of Oldham: Renegotiation of the west coast trains franchise agreement is continuing with the incumbent operator. This is consistent with the terms of the interim agreement entered into by the Strategic Rail Authority and Virgin Rail Group in July 2002. The terms of the renegotiated franchise will be reached through a stringent evaluation procedure designed to ensure value for money for the taxpayer.